Processing method and processing device

ABSTRACT

A processing device ( 5 ) is provided for automobile body parts ( 2 ). The device ( 5 ) includes a multiaxial conveying robot ( 6 ) on which at least one support or carrier ( 7 ) is disposed. The at least one support ( 7 ) is provided with one or several multiaxial processing units, preferably small robots ( 10 ). The small robots ( 10 ) support different tools and can be controlled individually.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a United States National Phase application ofInternational Application PCT/EP2004/003836 of Apr. 17, 2004 that claimsthe benefit of priority of German Application 203 06 257.4 filed Apr.10, 2003, the entire contents of each application are incorporatedherein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention pertains to a machining method and a machiningdevice for components, especially motor vehicle body parts.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Such machining devices are known from practice, e.g., as welding robots.They comprise a multiaxial transport means in the form of an articulatedarm robot and a tool, e.g., a welding tool. Furthermore, it is knownfrom practice in the case of machining stations for body parts,especially so-called geo stations or framing stations for tacking thebody parts, that stationary or mobile lateral clamping frames, which maybe equipped with a plurality of clamping tools, are used to clamp thecomponents. However, these clamping frames can be attached to thevehicle body or the body parts only on the outside, so that only outerclamping is correspondingly possible. This must be taken intoconsideration in designing the body and in the concept of themanufacturing process. Moreover, the accessibility of the components forexternal welding robots or the like is limited. Clamping body parts onthe inside is not possible.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to show a better machiningtechnique.

This object is accomplished by the present invention with a machiningdevice for components, especially automobile body parts, which devicehas a multiaxial transport device and tools. At least one carrier isprovided with one or more multiaxial machining units with a plurality oftools arranged at the transport means.

A machining station may be provided for machining the components (forjoining the body parts) with one or more of the machining devicesarranged in the machining station.

A method for machining cubic components, especially the automobile bodyparts, by means of the multiaxial transport means is provided in whichthe transport means introduces at least one carrier with one or moremultiaxial machining units into the interior space of the component. Themachining units carry out machining operations on the inside of thecomponent.

The claimed machining device and technology has the advantage that ithas a multifunctional field of use. It forms a so-called multirobot,which can carry out a great variety of activities at different sites andespecially joining, clamping or machining sites of the body parts.Moreover, it is possible as a result to carry out a plurality of joiningprocesses on the inside of the vehicle body or the components. Inparticular, it is possible to clamp a vehicle body on the inside.

The multirobot has the advantage that each machining unit with its tool,which may optionally be replaceable, is mobile and able to functionindependently and is freely programmable. As a result, many differentfunctions can be carried out by the multirobot or the machining unitsthereof independently from one another. Moreover, this has the advantagethat only a single clamping device, which requires only a differentprogramming in case of a changeover to another type, is needed for allthe vehicle bodies to be manufactured.

The multiaxial machining units arranged at the multirobot can have avery large working range thanks to their freely selectable multiaxialnature. A correspondingly adapted shape of the carrier is also helpfulfor this. The use of small robots, preferably in the form of smallarticulated arm robots with six or more axes, is especially advantageoushere, especially because standard components can be used for thisembodiment of the machining devices. All the kinematic requirements canbe satisfied even for a changeover to components of another type due tothe highly flexible multiaxial nature with six or more axes, e.g., aseventh telescopic axis for the robot hand. Not even a change oflocation on the carrier is necessary in case of the small robots asaccording to the invention. A change in location and re-assembly on thecarrier can be carried out as an alternative in case of simplermachining units.

Furthermore, it is possible to equip a machining station, e.g., a geostation or a framing station, with one or more of these multirobots,which offers special advantages for the accessibility of the body parts.The clamping effort on the outside of the body parts can be reduced dueto an inside clamping technique, which improves and facilitates theaccessibility of the body to other machining or processing devices,e.g., welding robots or the like. Moreover, welding processes or otherjoining processes can be carried out on the inside of the body moreeasily and with better quality due to the multiaxial small robots. Themultirobot can place the carrier with the small robots in a suitablemanner in the interior space of the body. The small robots also haveimproved accessibility to hidden or hard-to-reach areas of componentslocated on the inside, which are hardly accessible for a welding robotor the like that is arranged on the outside. The outside dimensions ofthe carrier and the small robots can be reduced such that they can befed through openings in the component or in the body and placed in theinterior space.

In the working position, the carrier can be held by the transport meansfreely floating or additionally supported at the free end or at anothersuitable site. Firm support and guiding or mobile support with degreesof freedom in one or more directions or axes may take place. Thispermits the carrier and its small robots to be re-oriented intodifferent positions.

The various features of novelty which characterize the invention arepointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming apart of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention,its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses,reference is made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter inwhich preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a machining station with a multirobot;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the multirobot;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the multirobot from FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side view of a small robot used as part of the multirobot;

FIG. 5 is a rear view of the small robot; and

FIG. 6 is a top view of the multirobot in the working position in abody.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the drawings in particular, FIG. 1 shows a machiningstation (1) for components (2), which station may have any desiredsuitable design. In the exemplary embodiment being shown, it is a geostation or framing station for body parts (2), for example, side panelsand floor group, which are brought into the machining station (1) on apallet or another suitable carrier by means of a conveyor, not shown,and positioned here exactly in a position suitable for machining. Themachining station (1) may be part of a larger production plant andintegrated in this case within a transfer line formed by a plurality ofstations.

One or more external clamping frames (4), for example, the two sideframes shown in FIG. 1, which are docked with the station frame (3) oralternatively with the pallet in a suitable and accurately positionedmanner, may be present in the machining station (1) for clamping thebody parts (2).

A plurality of machining devices (5, 12) are present in the machiningstation (1). These may be, for example, process devices, especially thewelding robots (12) shown, which are arranged externally and in afloor-bound manner laterally next to or on a portal above the body parts(2) and the clamping frames (4). The welding robots (12) are preferablydesigned as articulated arm robots with six or more axes, optionallyalso linear auxiliary axes. The robots (12) carry suitable andoptionally replaceable tools, for example, welding devices, which may,however, also be designed in any other suitable manner.

At least one special machining device (5) in the form of a so-calledmultirobot is arranged in the machining station (1). The multirobot (5)comprises a mobile transport means (6), which is preferably designed asa transport robot. This is preferably an articulated arm robot with sixrotatory axes. The transport robot (6) may be arranged, for example, asa portal robot suspended on the station frame (3) and it is located as aresult in a central location above the transfer line and mayconsequently also be oriented centrally and in the direction of thelongitudinal axis of the body parts (2). As an alternative, thetransport means (6) may also be designed in any other desired manner,for example, as a multiaxial linear unit. The number of axes may vary aswell. At least two axes that are movable independently from one anotherare advantageous.

The transport means (6) carries a docked multi-arm unit. This comprisesat least one carrier (7), at which one or more multiaxial machiningunits (8, 9) with at least one tool (11) each are arranged.

The carrier (7) is detachably connected with a suitable connection ofthe transport means (6), preferably the robot hand (13) of the transportrobot. In particular, a change coupling may be arranged here, whichmakes possible the automatic replacement of the carrier (7) with anothercarrier or another tool. The carrier (7) may be a one-part or multipartcarrier and is preferably of a rigid and bending resistant design. Itmay have any desired suitable shape adapted to the machining task. As analternative, the carrier (7) may comprise a plurality of parts withcorresponding drives, which said parts can be moved, e.g., folded ortelescoped relative to one another in a controlled manner and can belocked in the selected position.

In the exemplary embodiment being shown, the carrier (7) is designed asan essentially straight, box-shaped girder with closed wall. As analternative, the carrier (7) may have a singly or multiply bent, curvedand/or optionally branched shape, e.g., a Y shape, and grid-like orbraced walls. The carrier (7) preferably has the elongated or stretched,slender girder or rod shape shown. The carrier (7) has a plurality ofprepared and preferably flat mounting surfaces for the machining units(8, 9). The cross section of the carrier (7) is preferably essentiallyrectangular and offers as a result different flat mounting surfaces onits side walls for the desired and also changeable arrangement ofmachining units (8, 9). In another variant, the carrier (7) may bedesigned as a plate or as a frame, etc.

The machining units (8, 9) are rigidly or detachably connected with thecarrier (7). They have at least two separate axes of motion and may haveany desired suitable design. The machining units (8, 9) may be arrangedon different sides of the carrier (7) and may be present as multiplecopies. They are arranged at the girder (7) according to the exemplaryembodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 at the side walls that are locatedopposite each other and are vertical in the stretched position beingshown with an offset present in the axial direction or at spacedlocations from one another. In the embodiment being shown, there arethree left-hand machining units (8) and three right-hand machining units(9) in the top view according to FIG. 3, and these said left-hand andright-hand machining units are arranged distributed at uniformly spacedlocations from one another and are staggered between the left-hand andright-hand sides of the carrier. One or more machining units areadditionally arranged on the top side and/or the underside of thecarrier (7) in the variant according to FIG. 6.

The machining units (8, 9) are preferably designed as small robots.These are six-axis articulated arm robots of the miniature format, whichhave, for example, a carrying capacity of 2 kg to 10 kg and an overallheight h of about 65 cm. FIGS. 4 and 5 show such small robots (10).These are six-axis articulated arm robots, which have a frame (14)attached stationarily to the carrier (7), a carousel (15) mountedpivotably thereon, a rocker (16) mounted rotatably on the latter, and anextension arm (17) mounted pivotably at the end of the rocker. Athree-axis robot hand (13), which carries the tool (11), is arranged atthe end of the extension arm. An automatic change coupling may likewisebe present here between the robot hand (13) and the tool (11). The smallrobot (10) shown may have auxiliary axes, for example, a seventh lineartelescope axis for the robot hand (13), which makes possible anextending movement in relation to the extension arm (17). In addition, alinear axis, which makes possible a linear displacement of the entiresmall robot (10), may be present between the frame (14) and the carrier(7). The drives (18) of the small robot (10) are not shown for clarity'ssake.

The tools (11) may be of any desired and suitable type. They arepreferably machining tools, especially joining tools, e.g., clampingtools, welding tools, bonding tools or the like. The machining units (8,9) and their tools (11) may be programmed individually and separatelyfrom one another in terms of their kinematics and functions. They arepreferably controlled from the transport means (6). The end position ofthe machining units (8, 9) at the workpiece (2) can be maintained bycontrol circuits, despite possible mechanical tolerances orflexibilities in the multirobot system. For example, the robot controlof the transport robot (6) may be used for the control. The machiningunits (8, 9) are also supplied with energy and other materials neededfor operation from the transport means (6) via the carrier (7).

The multirobot (5) may be used in different ways in the machiningstation (1). For example, it may move into the interior space (21) ofthe vehicle body (2) through a window or door opening or another openingwith a docked multi-arm unit, i.e., the carrier (7) and the small robots(10). The small robots (10) with their tools (11) may be folded in orderto occupy the smallest possible space. The transport robot (6) will thenposition the carrier (7) with the small robots (10) in a predeterminedstarting position in the interior space (21) of the body. FIG. 6 shows aschematic top view of such a working position corresponding to FIG. 1.

The transport means (6) may hold the carrier (7) in the working positionin a freely suspended manner. As an alternative, supporting by means ofa support means (22) shown schematically in FIG. 2 is possible. A columnor a support (23), which may be arranged, e.g., at the pallet or thecarrier of the component (2), at a lateral clamping frame (4) or atanother point, is provided for this purpose at the working site in asuitable position. As an alternative, it is also possible to support thecarrier (7) directly at the component (2), e.g., in an opening of thecomponent, at a projection of the component or the like. The supportingmay be positive-locking, such that the carrier (7) cannot move anylonger in the supported position. This can be brought about, e.g., bythe positive-locking mounting of the free end of the carrier in acorresponding opening of the column. As an alternative, it is possibleto move the carrier (7) with the transport robot (6) in the supportedposition and to orient it in different angular positions. A sphere (24)may be arranged for this purpose at the free front end or anothersuitable point of the carrier (7), e.g., in the form of a joint, a coneor the like, which cooperates with a correspondingly shaped mount (25)at the column (23). The mount (25) may have, e.g., the shape of a flatspherical shell, a cone opening, a semicylindrical flute, etc. In thecase of the ball arrangement shown in FIG. 2, the transport means (6)can rotate the carrier (7) about the longitudinal axis thereof and, inaddition, about the two other rotatory space axes. Only rotation aboutthe longitudinal axis of the carrier (7) is possible in case of a conepair. In case of a flute-like mount (25), there may be a deliberatelimitation of the rotary mobility depending on the direction in whichthe flute is open. The mount (25) may be accessible from the front, fromthe top and/or from the side. Depending on the embodiment, thesupporting (22) may have one or more degrees of freedom with rotatoryand/or translatory axes. Besides a rotary support, a supporting slidingguide is possible as well.

After the working position or optionally the supported position has beenassumed, each small robot (10) can move out into its preprogrammedposition and carry out the process assigned to it. The small robots (10)may carry out different processes, for example, a clamping process and awelding process. It is also possible due to the multi-arm unit toperform clamping tasks at different points in the interior space (21) ofthe vehicle body (2).

For example, two small robots (9, 10) arranged laterally at the carrier(7) clamp parts of one side wall (20) of the body (2) in FIG. 6. A thirdsmall robot (9, 10′) between them and on the top side of the carrier (7)carries out machining operations, e.g., welding operations, on theclamped side wall parts. On the other side of the carrier, a small robot(8, 10) clamps parts of the other side wall (19) of the body (2) in FIG.6, and an adjacent small robot (8, 10′) performs machining operations inthis area of the component.

After the conclusion of the handling and/or machining process, the smallrobots (10) with their tools (11) can again be folded in and removedfrom the vehicle body (2) together with the carrier (7).

Various modifications of the embodiments shown are possible. Themachining device (5) may be present in a plurality of copies at themachining station (1). It may assume other positions and be arranged,for example, on the side and in an upright position. The number and thearrangement of the machining units (8, 9) at the carrier (7) may vary.This also applies to the design embodiment and also the control of themachining units (8, 9). These may be remote-controlled movement unitswith two or more axes, which are actuated and adjusted, for example, viabowden cables at the carrier (7). They are driven via a suitableadjusting device at the transport means (6) or at the carrier (7). Themachining units (8, 9) and optionally their tools (11) may have freelyprogrammable surfaces and optionally a memory effect. Furthermore, theymay be coated with a flexible plastic coating.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed in detail to illustrate the application of the principles ofthe invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodiedotherwise without departing from such principles.

1. A machining device for components, the device comprising: amultiaxial transport means; a carrier with a multiaxial machining unitwith a tools arranged at a transport means.
 2. A machining device inaccordance with claim 1, wherein the transport means is designed as amultiaxial transport robot.
 3. A machining device in accordance withclaim 1, wherein the machining units are designed as multiaxial smallrobots each with one of said tools.
 4. A machining device in accordancewith claims 1, wherein the machining units are arranged on differentsides of the carrier.
 5. A machining device in accordance with claim 1,wherein the machining units can be controlled individually.
 6. Amachining device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the machining unitscan be controlled from the transport means.
 7. A machining device inaccordance with claim 1, wherein the carrier is designed as anessentially straight girder.
 8. A machining device in accordance withclaim 1, wherein the small robots are designed as six-axis articulatedarm robots.
 9. A machining device in accordance with claim 1, whereinthe machining units are arranged on different sides of the carrier,offset in relation to one another.
 10. A machining device in accordancewith claim 1, that wherein the machining units carry said replaceabletools.
 11. A machining device in accordance with claim 1, wherein thetools of the machining units are designed at least partly as saidjoining tools.
 12. A machining device in accordance with claim 1,wherein an additional support is provided for the carrier.
 13. Amachining station, comprising: a multiaxial robot transport; a carrierconnected to said multiaxial robot transport for movement therewith; aplurality of multiaxial machining units carried by said carrier; aplurality of tools, each of said multiaxial machining units beingconnected to a respective one of said tools.
 14. A machining station inaccordance with claim 13, wherein each machining device is arranged at astation frame.
 15. A machining station in accordance with claim 13,wherein each machining device is designed as a portal robot/portalrobots.
 16. A method of machining cubic components, by means of amultiaxial transport means and at least one tool, and further comprisingthe steps of: employing the transport means for introducing at least onecarrier with one or more multiaxial machining units into the interiorspace of the component, wherein the machining units carry out machiningoperations on the inside of the component.
 17. A method in accordancewith claim 16, wherein the component is clamped on the inside by one ormore said machining units and is machined by said other machining units.18. A method in accordance with claim 16, wherein the carrier with themachining units is introduced through an opening into the component. 19.A method in accordance with claims 16, wherein the carrier with themachining units is additionally supported in the working position by asupport means.